Scarlet Flames
by Courtanie
Summary: Trust them, but let no one in. Kyle's sanity is placed on the line as he is knowingly stalked and put in harms way by an untouchable enemy. Will the friendships he's had for his entire lifetime lead to his downfall? Rated M for disturbing scenes.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This idea...has a very basic beginning. I dunno just how far it'll go or where it'll go...but I need to write it. _

_IT CALLS TO ME xD_

_/Sigh_

_Just to get it out of the way: It'll be M for noncon and violence and swearing and blah blah blah if you've read my stuff, you know what to expect._

_If you haven't...Hi! =D_

_Enjoy =v=_

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Thick lashes obscure my view for mere moments before raising to half-lidded above my eyes. I slowly turn my head back and forth, searching for an angle for my vision to readjust to the sudden intrusion of the soft glow of a lantern not three feet away from me.

I sit up on the cold, damp floor, my head pulsating in pain. I feel my hand atop something slimy and I cringe as it makes a swishing sound as I prop myself up. I glance around my surroundings, my eyes still half-closed. I see nothing. Nothing but darkness except for the small circle of light around me produced by the glass candle-keeper. I move my fingers, trying to wake my body up before I shiver as the liquid under me seeps onto my skin. I bring up my hand, looking to see just what I'm putting my appendage in. I nearly fall over as my eyes fall across a large, scarlet mess across my palm.

My mouth drops open and I tremble, turning my hand palm-down and watching as the red goop slowly starts to pull off my hand. It's thick. Almost like a jelly as it falls to the hard, cement ground in lumps. A glance down reveals that I'm sitting in the stuff. I groan, moving and turning up onto my knees in a panic. I run my fingers through the mess shakily, my curious nature not able to resist wondering just what it is.

I grab the lantern and bend down closer to the floor with it close in my hand, trying to direct the light right onto my field of vision. I gulp, looking at the lumps and shaking my head slowly in the midst of my loss.

I sit back up and look around my dark confinement slowly. "Hello?" I call out, biting my lip.

"W-where am I?" my voice echoes around me and I start breathing a bit heavier, my eyes flickering around in worry. I hold up the lantern by my face, squinting as I move it out farther in an attempt to see where I am. I try to make a stand, but find my legs unable to work right. I half make it before my knees buckle and I crash down onto the floor in a miserable heap, the lantern falling from my grasp and shattering around me. The candle drops out and rolls away before the flame flickers out.

I bite my lip as I find myself shrouded in darkness yet again. I blindly reach forward on the floor, my fingertips landing in the thick jelly and immediately making my stomach lurch. I swallow it down and start crawling forward, my legs sliding through the mess and seeping through my pants, chilling my legs. I try to make out any kind of visual, but come up short, relying on my touch.

My fingers hit a cool cement wall and I sigh, running my hand over it looking for a door. I close my eyes, trying to focus only on my feelings and not my lack of vision for the time being. I crawl to the right, keeping my hand on the wall as I move, feeling desperately for a change in texture or anything that might indicate a door.

My knee hits something soft and I look down in confusion, not able to make out a form of any kind. I lower down, sitting atop my legs as I reach out and cautiously place my hand on the roadblock. It's soft...and warm.

I narrow my brows in confusion, starting to slide my hand down it, finding it long and bumpy. My hand stops as I feel something familiar.

It...it feels like hair.

I run my fingers through it before letting them drop just slightly, coming across what seems to be something rather detailed. I trace my fingertip around, feeling a large lump before my finger drops off and I feel something else soft. I trail around it, my heart lurching as I recognize a set of lips. I grasp around the chin of the person, running my fingers down their throat feeling for a pulse.

"H-hello?" I manage to choke out, finding their neck completely devoid of any movement whatsoever. I start trembling, my teeth clattering uncontrollably. "Oh god..." I fall back onto my ass, not minding the pile of the jelly substance I land in and backing up slowly.

Someone's dead. I have no idea where I am...and I'm in here with someone dead. Someone warm nonetheless.

I start breathing more rapidly, my eyes darting back and forth as my head starts filling with imaginary noises. I curl up into myself and bury my face into my jeans, my fingers curling into the denim roughly.

Suddenly out of the corner of my hiding eyes, I see the room light up. I glance up quickly, instantly regretting it as my eyes pulse and my vision fails me again. I place my eyes into the heel of my palms and shake my head slowly as I rub, trying to calm them down. I gingerly pull away my hands and sniff lightly as I let my lowered vision become more and more exposed to the intrusion of brightness.

I glance up, finding myself surrounded by countless, dripping candles. Dark, black candles with pure red flames. I gulp and glance around a bit before I shoot my head over to the body I just discovered.

My heart sinks as I come across a mess of blonde hair, stained crimson. Very familiar blonde hair.

I scurry over to him, reaching out and shaking my head. "K-Ken..." I breath, pushing the hair out of his face. My heart nearly comes to a stop as I see his eyes, his lids stitched down to his cheeks with thick black wire.

I shakily fall back from him, my mouth agape in shock. I look around my confinement a bit from the ceiling, finding I'm in a stone box. Nothing but walls made of a dark, gray brick illuminated ominously in the glow of the red flames. I swallow, looking back down and seeing Kenny's body sprawled out on the floor again. I turn my head away and regret it as I come across another body.

This one has dark, brooding black hair. Beside him, nearly blending in, is another with the raven locks. I crawl over to them and push them over, finding the bodies of Craig and Stan staring at me with their stitched-over eyes. Their faces covered in the stains of the ruby gunk lining the floor.

"Oh....oh my...oh god..." I pant. "Guys...Oh shit, guys!" I scream out.

I place my hand on the face of my best friend, running my fingers over the wiring. "Who did this to you?" I whisper.

"Why, you." a voice starts. I whip my head around, finding Kenny standing now, looking at me with his encased eyes.

"K-Ken..." I start, shaking my head in disbelief.

"You should have been more careful," he states, his voice flat and not like him at all.

"Wh-what are you talking about?!" I breathe. I catch movement out of the corner of my eye and look over to see Stan and Craig practically flying onto their feet, coming back down on their toes gently. I back up from them, sliding through the goo around me and landing in the middle of the room, looking between the three bodies.

"Don't you know?" Craig grins with his jagged teeth. "You're the one."

"Th-the one?" I repeat.

"He chose you, ya know," Stan cocks his head, his neck cracking sickeningly as he does so. I cringe a bit and look at him with desperate eyes.

"Who? Chose me...for what?"

"He's in your dreams," Kenny grins. "He's coming for you."

"Who?!" I shout.

"He'll do the same to you..." Craig begins, his voice gaining a dark undertone underneath his own.

"As he did to us," Stan finishes with a wide, sardonic grin, the undertone overpowering his own voice.

The three of them lift their shirts, revealing long, jagged scars spanning from their abdomens all the way up to their hearts.

"What...what happened..." I whisper.

They all point to the floor and I look down, my jaw dropping as I find I'm sitting in a mess of entrails and organs. I scream, pushing the organs away and trying to scramble up, doing nothing more than slipping on a discarded kidney.

"_He'll come for you and take your soul,_" Craig began.

"_He'll drag you down the pit of time,_" Ken continued.

"_To the land of where he wants you,_"

"_Long before your prime._"

I glance between the two of them, backing up slowly with wide eyes.

"_So hold on tightly to your heart_"

"_Never matter when time is grim,_"

"_For the moment you let your guard down..._" Craig paused.

"_You belong to him_," Kenny finished, lowering his head with a dark grin overshadowing his slim face.

"Who?!" I breathe out, curling into myself just slightly as I gaze at their stitches.

"He'll find you," Stan begins. "But you won't know it."

"Why not?!"

They all laugh darkly, starting to close in on me. They gather around me in a circle, standing atop the mess of entrails without so much as a cringe.

"He is the shadow of who you were," Kenny states.

"He's in your head and your soul itself." Craig says.

"He's who you are in another body," Stan continues.

"Long before you know yourself." Kenny says, chuckling.

They reach down and grab me, wrenching me to my unusable feet. They hold me as I fall limp, looking around at them in a panic. "What are you doing?!" I shout as their fingernails dig into my skin, drawing blood and letting it flow down my arms.

"You're real," Kenny whispers, leaning in towards my ear. "You're real and so is he. He wants someone like you."

"Who the fuck is he?!" I scream, slamming my eyes shut for a moment.

"He is you." Craig murmurs, leaning in towards my other ear. "He is everything to you and yet he means nearly nothing."

I shoot my eyes open again, looking between them confusedly. Stan leans down in front of me, his wired eyes seeming to bore into my own. "Trust us. But do not let us in."

"W-what?"

He says nothing, standing in front of me straight. They all release their grip on me at once, letting my body fall uselessly to the floor. I look down at a heart underneath my hand and I choke on my breath a bit.

I look back up, seeing them backing away from me in a gentle gliding motion. They slide back towards their previous spots before falling to the floor once again. They look as they did once I first saw them, completely void.

I scramble over towards Kenny's body and push on him a few times. "Ken?" I whisper, shaking his shoulder.

Nothing.

I run my bloodied fingers through my hair and start breathing heavier. "Oh god...Who?..." I bite my lip.

All the candles but one go out and I look over at it. It moves over to the center of the floor and floats above the cement. I turn over towards it, outreaching my fingers, seeming to completely lose my sense of self. I crawl towards it slowly, my fingertips starting to become illuminated. I reach closer and closer still, confused when I feel no heat emanating from the candle. I bring my fingers right up by the flame, my eyes going half-lidded before my finger passes through the fire.

Suddenly, I'm lurched up into the air by my arms and I let out a scream. "Let me down!"

"_Kyle..._" a voice calls out from below me. That has to be Kenny's. "_Kyle, he's coming._"

"Kenny, help me!" I look up towards the black ceiling and nearly fall into sobs.

"_Kyle...don't let us in._"

"Why not?!" I cry, feeling my arms stretching as my body hangs uselessly in the air.

"_Trust us, but believe no one_." he warns. I feel something sharp tearing through the skin of my arms and I try to scream, finding myself cut off by a large strand of something wrapping around my throat and squeezing tightly. I open my eyes to find myself staring at a pair of ruby slits above me. It says nothing, but I watch as it breaks into a demonic grin, filled with sharp, ragged teeth.

More sharp pains course through me and I look down, seeing my skin being peeled away by needles. The thing wrapped around my throat stops my pain-filled shout in its tracks, making me start coughing out as tears fall down my face in droves.

"_Don't let us in..." _Kenny's voice reaches me again, though seeming much farther away. He repeats himself time and time again, each time getting further from me. I feel the blood cascading down me as my flesh is torn apart and my eyes slowly begin to close.

I start fading away to the sound of Kenny's warnings , joined by a soft growling filling the air, whispering to me, "_I'll find you soon."_

My eyes shoot open and I find myself staring straight up at my white ceiling. I lunge up, finding myself in my bed. A quick glance around amidst my heavy panting shows my blankets thrown off and my pillow thrown on the opposite side of my room. I blink, running my fingers through my sweat-drenched hair. I subconsciously run my hands over my arms, looking for nail and needle marks.

I sigh shakily, scooting back and leaning against my headboard. I close my eyes, taking a few deep breaths, trying to calm my pounding heart. Jesus Christ I haven't had a dream like that in quite some time.

My eyes slowly open and I let them drift over to the clock beside me on the nightstand. Almost nine...I can deal with that. I'd rather not go back to sleep after that.

I swing my feet out of my bed and stare down at my pale legs tiredly. My entire body is drenched with sweat and it's cooling against my skin. I shiver before slowly starting to inch off of the bed and let my feet land on the ground. I stand, rather relieved to have my legs working once again.

"Kyle?" a voice enters my room. I look over at the door and see Ike poking his head in the door. "Dude, you were screamin' somethin' fierce," he raised his brow. "What the hell was goin' on?"

"Bad dream," I say, my voice coming out in soft little hiccups.

"Yeah, well next time keep it the fuck down," he narrows his brown eyes at me before turning and heading away from my room.

"Yeah...yeah..." I nod, sniffing and pushing my hair back. I'm completely at a loss at this point. I've never had a dream like that. So dark and morbid...Jesus, it's something the goth kids would wake up to a stiffie with.

I walk over to my dresser and gingerly pull out some clothes, sliding them on without much thought. My eyes stay focused on my reflection in the mirror. I have bags under my eyes and creases across my face, no doubt from my apparent freak-outs during the night. I lean forward as I finish pulling my shirt on, staring into my eyes.

Same green as always...no stitches and that's good. They're just a bit red. I notice pale pink lines going down my face and blink in surprise. I usually don't cry, but apparently this fucking freaked me out to tears. I can't say I'm all that shocked, though. It's not too often I dream of swimming in the organs of my friends.

I yawn and stretch a bit, ready to just get the memory out of my head. I grab my cell phone from off the dresser and throw it into my pocket before starting to head out my door. I step slowly down my stairs, my balance still a bit shaky.

"Good morning, Kyle," my mother greets me from the kitchen.

"Hey," I nod, moving past her to grab my insulin kit.

"You look a bit pale," she says, looking at me with narrowed eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just shitty sleep," I mutter, injecting the medicine into my arm. I place the needle into the kit for disposal and throw the box back into the cabinet.

"What are you doing today, Kyle?" Mom asks.

I shrug, "I dunno. I think I'm supposed to hang with Ken or something at noon."

"Alright," she nods, turning her head down to the newspaper on the table and taking a sip of her juice. I roll my eyes and start heading out the door, grabbing my phone and dialing Kenny's number. I hold the phone up to my ear and grab my jacket before starting out the front door.

"_Hey, Ky," _he answers. I breath a sigh of relief. After what I saw last night, I wasn't sure if he'd actually be alive today.

"Hey. Dude, were we supposed to do something today?"

"_We said we were gonna hang out at my place and get some pizza or something."_

"You mind if I come over a little earlier?" I ask.

"_Sure, somethin' up?"_

"I'll tell you later," I mumble, not quite sure of what I'm doing myself. "I'll be there soon."

"_Alright, Dude. See ya," _he replies before hanging up his phone.

I sigh and click mine off as well, sliding it back into my pocket. I cross my arms against the cold and sniff. You'd think a lifetime in this piss-poor town would make me all but immune to the chill of winter, but no. Being diabetic and 110 pounds doesn't really help my case much, either.

I head down the sidewalk, looking over at the few passing cars that fly on by. The smoke escaping from their exhaust pipes catches and holds my attention as it gently wafts in the air before completely dissipating. I can't help but find a certain interest in that. It just...vanishes. But to where? Sure into the air, but where in the air? Why does it get the luxury of just disappearing into nothingness?

I can't say I don't envy that in a way.

I breath out, watching as my breath imitates the exhaust from the cars and shake my head slowly. I walk through the disintegrating air, feeling the warmth wash over my face and licking my lips. My heart starts beating a bit steadier as I think of that candle from my dream, the heatless flame against my skin. I can feel my fingertip tingling at the memory, still horridly fresh in my mind.

I stare back up, watching as the houses next to me slowly degrade in quality door by door. I hear a child crying from behind me and watch as a hawk swoops down from the clouds and grabs a field mouse from out of the yard next to me. I stop and watch as it flies off with the poor rodent, the screams of the kid seeming to match the squealing escaping from its furry lips.

I shake my head again and sigh. I swear, sometimes it's just not worth getting out of bed.

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_A/N: =D_

_Yayyyy new story. Upon thinking of a title for this, I thought 'oh, Possess-oh wait.'_

_That was definitely not the brightest moment of my life xD_

_Thanks for R&R-ing!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Let's keep it goin' =)_

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I'm greeted by the familiar chipped white painting on Kenny's front door, marred with dents and discoloring all along its surface. I glance to the driveway, seeing that his dad's pick-up is missing from its usual spot. I grab the knob and slowly push it open, sticking my head inside to see Kenny leaning back on the couch staring at the twelve inch TV atop it's red grocery crate.

"Hey," he says, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"Hey, Dude," I reply quietly, shutting the door behind me and walking over towards him. I sit down beside him, looking over to the TV and raising my brow. "Uh, Ken?"

"Yeah?"

"You're uh...you're watching static."

He looks at me and shrugs, "Yeah. Dulls the mind. Makes ya just kinda...blank, ya know?"

I shake my head, "No, I don't."

He smirks, grabbing the remote and flicking off the snow of the TV. "So. Sounded like you had somethin' on your mind earlier, huh?" he looks at me with his blue eyes.

I look back and shrug. "I had a weird-ass dream, Dude."

"What, you actually get some action?" he leans back and sniggers.

"Fuck you," I frown.

"Right here? Jeez Kyle, I thought you'd at least make me buy you dinner first."

"Oh shut up," I can't resist smiling as I hit his arm. "You couldn't afford me anyways."

"That a poor crack or are we just talkin' how good you are?"

"You interpret it however the fuck you want," I lean back with him and sigh.

His smile falls a bit and he watches me, "Seriously, though, what happened? I mean, you sounded fucking freaked."

I blink, "I did?"

"Dude, you were like, really worried sounding," he frowns, sitting up and staring at me. "Just what the hell did you dream about?"

I look at him and then down at the floor, creasing my brow. I didn't think it was that bad. "Uh, just...death I guess," I shrug.

He watches me carefully with a hint of skepticism lining his face. "You're afraid of death?"

"Not really..." I trail off, having to look away from him. All I can see is the blood on him...this thing hit me harder than I thought.

"Well take it from me," he starts, "Death is nothing to be afraid of." He pauses a moment, "Besides, I wouldn't think that someone like you would be scared of something like that."

I look back at him and cock my head, "How do you figure?"

"Well like, you're smart," he blinks. "You know that it's nothin' more than sleepin'."

"What about the Hell thing?" I frown.

"Yeah, but, it's not livin' either..." he looks up thoughtfully. "It's hard to explain."

"Then don't," I wave it away. I don't need to hear about it after what I saw. I just need something to clear my head. "I'll find out someday."

"True," he nods, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling.

I love that about mine and Ken's relationship. He doesn't always jump in to comfort me, he's quite blunt and to the point on his feelings. He usually makes me feel better just by being himself instead of developing that different persona that Stan seems to take. It's nice and refreshing to hear things from the perspective of someone so different than the others and so like myself.

"So what now?" he asks quietly.

"I dunno," I shrug. "What are you up to doing?"

He looks over at me and smirks, "You."

"Tough shit," I smirk back. "What are you up to doing that doesn't involve your dick?"

He looks up in thought before settling his eyes back on me, "There's always toys," he grins.

I roll my eyes and shake my head. "Something's wrong with you."

"Eh, I think I'm perfectly normal," he shrugs. "Everyone thinks like that, I'm just the only person around here with the balls to say it."

"No, you're just the only person lacking tact," I raise my brow.

"Same thing," he smiles. "Well, you could treat me to some pizza," he states.

"At nine in the morning?" I blink.

"I'm always hungry," he licks his lips. He leans in closer to me and I start leaning back away from him. "Either you or the pie. You make the call," he growls.

"Alright, Shaky's it is," I roll my eyes, pushing him up and away from me. He chuckles and rubs his hands together.

"Excellent. You're always the easiest to mooch off of."

"I'm the only one ever around," I scoff.

"This is true," he nods. We shoot our heads up as we hear the tell-tale sputtering of the McCormick's pick-up truck and Kenny groans. "Shit. It's Pop. C'mon, we'll go out back," he grabs my arm and we start getting off the couch before the front door slams open. Stuart McCormick stands in the doorway, licking his chapped lips and glaring at the both of us with glimmering, bloodshot eyes.

"What're you doing here?" he sneers at me.

"I...I'm visiting," I gulp, averting my eyes down to my worn shoes. To be honest, Stuart scares the ever-loving crap out of me. Kenny's grip tightens around my arm.

"What fer?" he growls. "That piece of shit ain't worth your precious million-dollar time."

Kenny sighs softly next to me. "Come on," he mutters, pulling me away.

"Now you wait just a moment there," Stuart calls. I hear his heavy boots coming up to us and gulp again before slowly raising my eyes back into his dark brown iris'. He stares down on me and narrows his eyes. "Why are you really here?"

Kenny pulls me away from him and growls under his breath. "He's my best friend, Pop, you know this. He has every right to be over here."

"Uh huh. Well how 'bout you two meet over at his mansion sometime once in awhile, huh?" he shouts. I cringe slightly but Kenny holds steady; unfortunately I know that's because he's used to this kind of treatment.

"It ain't a mansion," Ken mocks. "It's a house. I would explain to you what one is like, but since you been livin' in tin cans all your life, you wouldn't understand!" Stuart growls ferociously, grabbing Ken's collar and pulling him away from me.

"What'd you say you little shithead?" he demands.

"I said you're poor!"

Stuart's fist rears back and flies into Ken's cheek, sending him sprawling backwards onto the dirty carpeting. I bite my lip and start to move over by him. I've seen these two fight before, it gets bad if someone doesn't intervene. A large hand grabs my forearm and I look to see Stuart staring at me evilly.

"Mr. McCormick, let go!" I plead, trying to pry my arm out of his grasp. He smirks, pulling me in closer to himself and breathing hotly into my face.

"_He'll come for you_," he whispers. My heart stops for a moment and I look into his eyes, seeing a flash of deep red glint passing through before I'm suddenly ripped away from him. Kenny grabs my shoulders and starts leading me past his father out the front door.

"Ya don't fuckin' threaten the company!" Ken yells behind us before he shoves me outside and slams the door shut behind him, staring at it and breathing angrily. I shake lightly, Stuart's words circling around my mind furiously before I look up at the fuming blonde.

"K-Ken?" I stammer out.

He takes a heavy breath before looking at me, his cheek already beginning to swell. I stare at him with a sinking heart before sighing, grabbing his arm and pulling him off the front step. "Come on," I motion. "Let's get that pizza, hm?" He breaks into a grateful smile, hopping up beside me and swinging his arm over my shoulders, holding onto me tightly. He's tense and it makes me bite my lip angrily. "Are...are you okay?" I manage to ask.

"Yeah. I'm more concerned about you though."

"What?"

He looks over at me and I return it. "Well...I mean...you come over to my place...of all places looking for help from a dream. Then my dad grabs you like that," he tenses more and grits his teeth. "He shouldn't fucking grab anyone like that but especially not you. He wouldn't do that to fucking Craig or Stan."

"Craig and Stan are also twice my size," I remind him. "They're a bit more able to beat him back if they see fit than I am."

He looks down at me and smirks. "I s'pose so. But still...no more...sleeping over at my place, okay?"

"I thought I was supposed to tonight," I raise my brow.

"Yeah, but he could hurt ya. I don't need that on my conscious."

"Dude, I'm fine," I roll my eyes. "He'll probably be passed out by then anyways," I add quietly.

Kenny bites his lip and nods silently. "Fine. But you're sleeping on the far side of the door, alright?"

I snicker up at him. "Sure, big bro," I smirk.

"Don't call me that," he sticks his tongue out.

"Why?"

"Well because then what I'm gonna do to you counts as incest and that just isn't my thing."

I groan and push myself away from him, crossing my arms in a huff. "I hate you, Ken."

"Lies," he chuckles softly. We fall into a comfortable silence and I take a deep breath, closing my eyes and thinking about Stuart again.

_He'll come for you._

That's just too weird for my tastes. Who the fuck is this He anyways? And why would He be after me? I'm just a kid in a town in the middle of fucking nowhere.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Ken interrupts my thoughts.

"Nothin," I mumble.

"And once again I say: Lies," he scoffs. "It that dream of yours again?"

I creak my eyes open and nod quietly. "Yeah," I whisper.

"Dude, let me tell you something," he starts, looking down on me with a raised brow. "I stopped paying attention to my dreams years ago. You know why? Because they're just your imagination bein' overactive, okay?"

"Sometimes they can...tell the future, ya know?" I look at him while biting my lip.

"Tell me what the fuck was in this dream." he demands.

I gulp and look down at the ground, watching my shoes cross over the cement of the sidewalk. "It was...you and Stan and Craig. Something...killed you and...and took out your organs and stuff. And we were in this dark room and you were all around me and then you came to life again and then you all started attac-"

"Slow down, Ky!" he says, wrapping his arm around me again. "You're ramblin'. Now just tell me nice and slow. Me, Craig, and Stan. We were dead. We came back to life...then what?"

I take a deep breath, shaking badly on the exhale. "Then...then you grabbed me. A-and started telling me that whatever killed you...was coming for me, too."

He's silent for a few moments as I start nervously twiddling my thumbs. "That it?" he says.

"I...I know it sounds stupid...but it really fucking freaked me out," I admit, tucking a stray curl behind my ear and sighing. "It...it felt so real, ya know? I hurt when I got out of bed, I could fucking feel needles in my skin. I've never had a dream like that."

"Well...I ain't dead," he clarifies. "Craig and Stan ain't either. Too much sugar maybe?"

"Ken, I don't eat sugar," I remind him tiredly. "I...I just have this feeling...ya know?"

"What kind of feeling?" he asks quietly.

"I feel like something's gonna happen," I tell him. "I feel like that dream was trying to tell me something, like, warning me to be prepared."

"Maybe it's just telling ya that like..." he looks up in contemplation, "maybe...you're gonna fail a test or somethin'."

I sigh, "I...I really hope so." I shut my eyes and bite my lip again. I'm not convinced. I just wanna know what the hell this feeling is: My stomach is knotted and uneasy, my throat is burning with the need to throw up...I'm scared out of my mind right now...and just of a fucking stupid dream. Ken's right; it's just a result of overactive imagination. Some inner creativity that just needed unleashed and chose the form of entrails swimming under my feet.

That's all I can hope for at this point.

"Uh...Kyle?..." he slows us down, holding me against him tightly.

"Wha-" I open my eyes, finding a mass of black birds staring at us with beady red eyes.

"Dude...please tell me you have fucking bird seed in your pocket or something..." he slowly starts backing the both of us up.

I don't even dignify that with a response, my eyes worriedly scanning through the crows. They're totally focused on us...just an occasional flitter of the wings are the only indication these creepy things are actually alive.

"Ken...those are crows..." I say nervously.

"Are...are they predators or something?"

One of the crows at the front bends its head down, its eyes shining ruby in the light of the sun. "These ones might be," I murmur, grabbing at his arm. We turn around and start quickly trotting away before we hear a mess of caws from behind us and slowly turn, finding them starting to launch off the ground and take flight towards us. We both let out panicked yelps.

"Come on, Kyle, move it!" Kenny shouts, pulling me back around and starting to sprint away, pulling me closely behind him. I run along with him, keeping my head turned around and watching the birds as they pick up speed behind us. one swoops down and narrowly misses my head and I shout in surprise.

"What the fuck are these things on?" I screech as more make death dives towards the both of us.

"I dunno, but I wouldn't mind having some for home," he replies, trying to get us both to pick up enough speed to escape the flying attackers. I feel a sharp pain exploding throughout my back and groan, turning to see a black bird falling off of me with a blood-stained beak.

A group of them catch up to the both of us and start pecking away. We use our free arms to shield our eyes as we race down the paved walkway, screaming at the stupid flying monsters to get the hell away from us. We break apart our hands, waving our arms wildly in the air as we try to beat away the pests. I catch one and it bites down onto my arm, it's beak tearing through the fabric of my jacket swiftly and digging down into my skin. I shake around, but the sucker's clamping on tightly. I scream in panic, coming to a stop and trying to swat at more of them with their clingy buddy to beat them against each other.

"Kyle, keep moving!" Kenny yells. I look up slightly and see his house once more as he speeds past it, looking back at me with worried, hidden eyes. I uncover my eyes and grab onto the biting bird. It squawks and its jaws come apart. I throw it towards its friends, mildly disappointed the fucker catches itself in midair and didn't just flop onto the ground. The crows keep swarming me, pecking away at my jacket and what they've exposed of my skin before I take off through the mess of them, trying to catch up to Kenny in a hurry.

"What the fuck did we do?" I shout towards him.

"Maybe there's a bird god we forgot to pray to!" he shouts back, yelping as they continue to bombard him. Even in my panicked state, I can't help but roll my eyes at the guy. One of the birds dives down and jabs at my head, just barely missing my temple. My eyes water from the sharp stinging now crashing around my skull. I look back up under my sleeve and finding we're nearing my house. I bite my lip, grounding my sneakers against the concrete before taking off more furiously than before, running up beside Kenny.

"Dude, my house!" I shout.

"Come on," he yells back, grabbing my arm once more and starting to lead me off faster. We start approaching my house, the sounds of the caws from the ravens almost deafening. My body rings in stinging sensations and I groan softly as they throb in pain with my movements.

"Guys!" a voice calls out. We look up to see my brother standing at the end of our walkway holding the paper and looking at us with a raised brow.

"IKE GET IN THE HOUSE!" I scream, trying to beat off more of the birds. He just stares and Kenny growls, pushing me up my lawn and towards my front door. He rushes over and grabs Ike, hefting him up before running and meeting me at the entrance. I shove it open and we clamber inside before I slam the door shut behind us. I lean against it, taking large gulps of breath while Kenny puts Ike down and does the same.

"Boys, just what's gotten into yo-" my mom comes into the room, staring at us with wide eyes.

"Dude, they were running around like fucking retards," Ike relays.

"DID YOU NOT SEE THE BIRDS?" I shout at him.

He looks back at me and cocks his head a bit. "What."

"Th-the birds," Ken repeats, gulping. "Like, a million of them chasing us down? They wanted lunch and apparently our souls were on the goddamn menu!"

"Kenneth, you watch how you speak in this house," Mom lectures, coming over to us. She grabs my arm and looks over me carefully. "Kyle, why are you so cut up?" she asks.

"Ma, it was the birds!" I insist. "These crows came out of nowhere and me and Ken-"

"Kyle, I don't need your excuses," she huffs.

"Yeah, everyone knows you two just had some rough lovin'," Ike snickers, walking over and plopping down on the couch.

"Trust me, I'd look a lot happier were that the case," Kenny mutters.

"Shut up, McCormick," I hiss. "Ma, trust me, it was a bunch of crows!"

She rolls her eyes and clucks her tongue. "Look, Kyle. I don't care if it was crows, cows, or Kenny. But you ruined a perfectly good jacket," she waves my arm for display. "And you're both bleeding all over. Now you two go upstairs and clean up, do you understand?"

"I..." I start to protest but see the hardened look in her brown eyes and just opt for sighing dramatically. "C'mon, Ken," I mumble, treading up my stairs with him in tow. The sound of the news appears from the TV as we make our way to my bedroom, my head racing in a panic.

We enter my bedroom and shut the door and stare at each other. "Ike didn't see the birds," I say softly.

"How the fuck couldn't he?" Kenny snarls, ripping off his t-shirt and throwing it across the room. I do the same to my jacket and shirt and we examine our puncture wounds. "Fucking bastards only took up half the goddamn sky."

"I...I don't understand this," I bite my lip. "The wounds are real...so those birds had to have been real, too, right?"

"Maybe we _were_ lost in the throes of passion," Kenny shrugs. I glare at him and he grins cheekily. I sigh, rubbing over where the crow had a hold of my arm.

"I dunno, Dude. Something weirds going on. Crows are an omen."

"Like that movie?"

"Sure, Ken, what the hell not," I roll my eyes. "We nearly got our skin ripped apart by fucking possessed birds, so let's compare it to a fucking 80s horror film."

He's silent for a moment before he shrugs, "They remade it in 2006."

I groan and bring my hand up to run my fingers through my hair. I hit a lump atop my head and quirk my brow, rubbing over the area a few times. I wrap my fingers around something rather large feeling and pull it out of my tangled locks. I finally break it free with a hiss and bring it around my front to investigate. I find a mouse, torn apart and caked in blood in my hand and nearly vomit. I let out a rather girlish yelp and fling the dead rodent onto my floor. Kenny stares down at it and clears his throat squeamishly.

"Well lookie there, Ky. One of our birdie friends gave you a pal to remember him by." We gaze at the mutilated mouse before looking at each other with worried expressions.

Ike couldn't see the birds...how could he not? Maybe Ken and I are the only ones around here able to open our eyes. But I'd sure as hell love to close mine and keep 'em that way.

I think my imaginations gone into overdrive.

* * *

_A/N: reason this took so long is I was considering not continuing it_

_still thinkin' about it, actually. But as of now, yay updates and ravens : D_

_thanks for R&Ring!_


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